crocoonimper

Hi
We are flying to Sydney in March to validate visas. We need to hire a car with 2 childseats (twins aged 2) to be ready to collect at the airport at 6 am in the morning.
We have looked at only Europcar so far and it seems that not only would we have to fit the seats when we get there but also they will not guarantee availability as limited number of seats at each site. Also they do not specify what type of seats we can get - they need to be a proper seat as the boys too small for boosters yet.
Has anyone tried to hire car and seats for kids the same age? Can anybody recommend a company? Has anyone arrived this time in the morning and had to wait until 0900 to get their rental - and then had to fit the seats?!!
Really grateful for any advice...xx Cath

bazfer

I wish i could help, but we are in a very similar position. we fly ourt In april. have 3 children, had planned to take our seats, only to find they are not legal! look forward to hearing replies.
We are heading to Townsville, if anyone can recommend companies there.

cookies

When we arrived in Brisbane with our 4 kids, we needed a child seat and a booster. We just gave our requirements to the hire company and they were in the car when we picked up the vehicle - at around 8am. We used a company called Ariel, but I am sure most car rental companies will do the same. When you make your booking just specify your requirements and follow up with other e-mails to confirm as necessary.

Steve

datamile

A few to check... Often the seat rental mounts up if you're there for a while

http://www.rentacar-australia.com/

http://www.apexrentacar.com.au/

http://www.cairnsdirect.com

we went with Nova in the end , most are around this

INFANT / CHILD SEATS
AU$5.50 per day. Maximum AU$38.50 per hire - only suitable for children aged 6 months - 3 years. Please provide age of child when booking. Booster seats are not available. We took our booster seats

Amazulu

Could we take our own car seat?, would it be legal?.

dracupg

Legislation here requires the fitting of an anchor strap for a child set, but even if you have one of these you will probably invalidate any insurance cover you have as your child seat will not have the proper safety standard approval.

It sounds pedantic, as safety standards should be universal, but I wouldn’t take the chance.

Having lugged our child seat to Dubai for a holiday, I wouldn’t recommend it for that reason either. Balancing a child seat on top of a trolley with half a dozen bags isn’t my idea of fun.

The Bloke

Would be worth contacting the Royal Automobile Club of Qld (RACQ) or the Qld Department of Transport to check as to if you could use your seats and still not invalidate the insurance. They (RACQ) may also be able to help with suggesting places to see if you have to hire.

On the hire care front I find that Budget are cheaper than most for the same type of car and if you book on-line you save $5.00 on the hire.


Happy motoring!

NickyC

Don't under-estimate how long it will take you to get thru immigration/customs etc when you land. It's very unlikely that you'll be ready to pickup your car before 7.30am - even if you land on the dot of 6am because that time in the morning is the busiest of the day at the airport. There's a curfew at Sydney till 6am so there's usually a fair few aircraft circling and waiting to land and then, of course, correspondingly long queues in arrivals.

bondipom

The Cathay Pacific flight from HK was the first in when I flew with them. I checked in early at Central station and requested a seat as far forward as possible. We then legged it to immigration and got through from plane to other side of customs in 30 mins. There were plenty of other aircraft piling in after though.

The first time I picked up someone from international I was running late. That was fortunate because it took him over an hour from plane to the other side. Sydney airport parking charges are as high as Heathrows short stay parking so I avoided a big charge.

You can follow the arrivals on www.sydneyairport.com.au .

evorobin

I work for Europcar at Adelaide airport and we start serving customers at 6AM. We do baby/child & booster seats although we don't have an endless supply I would have thought if your booking in advance there shouldn't be a problem.

We are flying to CAirns on Saturday and taking our own seat as

a. It's free
b. It's clean (I've seen the state hire car seats come back in:scared: )
c. We only need one and we have a black recaro jobbie thats the dogs b******

And yes you need an ozzie baby seat as it uses an anchor system that I don't think Euro seats have. Also although companies provide the seats YOU have to install it incase of an accident.

Iceblock

From my experience it is a universal requirement that you will need to fit the child seat yourself...it is all about liability etc. ... Had this learning experience when we arrived in London late on a rainy Friday night........fun..:-) Since then always taken our own to speed up the fitting process ....you mayonly get written instructions which are pretty limited, as well as to ensure the seat is clean.....

Pollyana

Anyone coming to Queensland -

The RACQ sells and provides members with advice on the latest infant restraints, convertibles, forward facing restraints, and booster seats, as well as stocking a range of accessories such as anchor bolts, extension straps, mirrors and pillows.

Members who buy a restraint at RACQ's Spring Hill Office will receive advice and assistance with fitting their child restraint in cars with existing anchor points.

A telephone advisory service is available on 3361 2785 (Brisbane) or 1800 816 523 for all other areas. Our mail order service for regional and country members is available by calling 1800 816 523.

(calling from the UK, 0061 73361 2785).

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you're going to other states, go to the websites for the equivalent organisation - RACT, RACV, NRMA (NSW) etc.
Anyone who seriously wants more info for Qld, pm me with your email address, and I'll see what I can find out tomorrow.

jamiemac

Guys,

We arrived in Sydney from London with our 2 sparly new top rated car seats only to find they are not legal here and that you risk some serious fines.

(Even though the best car seats I can find in Aus are not as good in my opinion:
They don't fix as sturdily
They have dreadful lap buckles which connect conversly to what would seem obvious
None have shoulder pads held in place (they all sip around and become useless)
None have a a smooth recline option, in fact most requre to actually un attach them, then recline, then refit )

As for that damn top strap well I can see what it s for but it obscures your rear view mirror, madness!

One piece of quite good news. If you take your car seat on the plane and put it on the plane seat it does not count as weighed hand luggage. If you have a good make it can be very comfortable for your kids in flight and lets them see out of the window (not that theres much see for 20 hours but...)

J